These Ads are amazing, I love them. I love the colours, the copy, the poses, and the styling. Advertising back then, in the early days of surf, just hits different. I love the lines like ‘Damien Hardman uses Rip Curl wetsuits, clothing and accessories exclusively” and “Where Legends are Made’ or the tagline ‘The Surfers Wetsuit’ (which is still pretty much true these days).
The other thing I love, which was rampant in advertising in the late 80’s, is the combination of information and imagery on the ads (check the brad gerlach one). Nike used to nail it, Rolex too, and in some little way this Rip Curl ad of Brad does as well. It’s informative for the consumer but not over the top with info, and it’s not like the early 00’s where it’s 2/3 tightly cropped action shot that HAS TO SHOW the product and then 1/3 detail of the product.
Either way, scroll and click til you’re bored but these Vintage Rip Curl Ads are glorious, and I love them.
